


baby steps

by babysuns



Category: Produce 101 (TV), UNIQ (Band), UP10TION, X1 (Korea Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, im just soft, seungseok gay, this isn't edited oops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:47:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21562465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babysuns/pseuds/babysuns
Summary: steps one through five on falling in love with cho seungyoun
Relationships: Cho Seungyeon | Seungyoun/Kim Wooseok | Wooshin
Kudos: 84





	baby steps

**step one** : first meeting

middle school was always so stationary. 

there’s so little that changed in wooseok’s daily life. first period constantly drowned on, eyes still sleepy and every word uttered between people flew over their heads. it was way too early for anyone to assume that children could be wide awake, and wooseok was one of the many who pressed their cheeks against the palms of their hands to keep themselves upright. it was only at second period when wooseok had to stand up and walk to another class that he would start to wake up a little bit more, eyes wider, brighter. 

it’s not like wooseok disliked school. it was just the warmth of classrooms always lulled him to sleep, the gentle mumble of students and teachers doing nothing against him catching up on sleep. it was like this every day-- wake up, try his best to stay awake, go home and then go back to sleep. nothing changed except the occasional murmurs of people, or the whispers of confessions that wooseok had to endure at least once every two weeks behind staircases. 

this was one of those weeks. 

the stairwell dulled a lot of the light that flooded the school, the poor school lighting doing nothing for wooseok’s eyes as he squinted slightly to keep the colour from spilling over the lines. There were conversations that trailed from the classrooms that he couldn’t pick out, nor the faces of people passing by. even the blackboard in class was getting a little difficult to read, maybe he really needed. .

“uhm,” 

wooseok blinked, putting his focus back on the girl in front of him, arms folded behind her back neatly. he could almost see the words threatening to spill out of her mouth and he took a deep breath as he readied his own. he had a whole spiel tucked away for days like these, mixes of apologies and ‘i’m not looking for someone right now. . ‘ memorized at this point. 

he waited as the girl opened her mouth, but before he could hear her voice again, a louder one rang over it, bells of laughter filling the hall matching heavy steps down the stairs they paused behind. both of them stumbled a bit as a student turned the corner, making eye contact with the both of them. 

“hyorin, what are you doing here? eunha was looking for you.” the boy beamed, eyes curling into crescents as his words mixed with his laughter. he walked towards them as if he never knew the scene, wooseok’s eyes widening slightly as the other made his place between them. hyorin never even got the chance to introduce herself to him, the name not familiar to him, but the other boy painted it in a nice colour. 

“ _cho_ _seungyoun._ ” hyorin whined exasperatedly, face going red as she tried to cover her warming cheeks. without another word, she turned on her heel and rushed to go back up the stairs. seungyoun furrowed his eyebrows, glancing back and forth at wooseok and hyorin, words tripping over his tongue. 

“hyorin-? weren’t you talking to woosoek--” he called after her, voice a little too loud. for the second time, wooseok’s interest piqued. he didn’t think people knew his name so well at school, seeing as he didn’t know his till now. 

hyorin’s “ _ nevermind! _ ” just echoed back from the top of the stairs and seungyoun turned to look back at wooseok almost sheepishly. 

“sorry, did i interrupt something?” he said, voice much quieter than before, hand scratching the back of his neck. it made wooseok do the same, feeling the long hairs touching the back of his neck. “it’s fine, if she needs to, she can talk to me again.” he said nonchalantly, not entirely sure how to ask all the questions in his head. 

“mm, alright! i’ll see you around, wooseok,” seungyoun smiled, wide and bright and wooseok took in a breath, only able to give him a small wave as he retreated. 

wooseok only caught glimpses of seungyoun through switching classrooms and passing hallways, each one catching his bright smile directed at him in greeting.

but after that, everything went back to routine. 

**step two** : second glances

life picks up from there. it goes from papers and classrooms to blaring lights and sounds that could be his name. up10tion starts to walk in a busy crowd, bumping shoulders and stumbling to get through. but he’s happy, wooseok is so so happy. he likes the spotlights, like the dorms and the people around him. he confides in jinhyuk often, likes his small smiles from across the room. 

it’s another day for them out in the open, the sports festival seemingly able to throw him back to his old middle school gymnasium. jinhyuk generally loiters around him which he greatly appreciates, finding it easier to navigate through the mess of people when he has jinhyuk there to act as a walking beanpole. he’s constantly mumbling apologies under his breath as he squeezes past people, trying to match jinhyuk pace until his body hits something else a little harder. 

“woah-! careful there,” 

wooseok half expects his body to fall back, waiting for the floor or even more people to bump into behind him, but someone places a hand against his lower back, stabilizing him. 

he only briefly glances up to catch the persons face, but he feels how the embarrassment paints him bright red, so he barely makes eye contact before he bows his head a bit, words tumbling out of his mouth. 

“sorry, thank you, really--” he says, trying to be a little louder just to be heard over the people shifting. he tries to find jinhyuk in all of it, and feels his body relax when he does, seeing the older turn around and instantly look for him. 

without another look, he simply waves a hand and mumbles a curt  _ ‘goodbye’  _ before he’s back to ducking into the crowd, drowning out in the sea of people. 

its maybe just the fans calling out to him, they have been all day, but he briefly hears his name again. 

**step three** : fate

its constant falling. its comeback after comeback and the weight of it sits heavy on his tongue-- on his shoulders. nothing sits well with him anymore, especially when he steps into the main room of produce x 101. theres 99 pairs of eyes staring right at him just in the room alone, and thousands more staring through screens. years of experience does nothing against this. 

he’s pulled left and right throughout the weeks, as grueling as they are. he’s tired, pushing his body always a touch too much, but he still finds himself giving small, shakey smiles to the people around him. 

he has jinhyuk with him, which feels already a thousand times better than the months he had to himself. it feels like he took something familiar with him, being able to hold his hand through the thick of it. 

theres others who have debuted too, faces he’s seen on screens that have wilted over time, but their smiles could never be captured by cameras to compare in the way that wooseok sees them. 

seungwoo and byungchan easily make their place beside him, and he always seems to greet yuvin and kookheon whenever they pass by. besides their faces, its all new ones, younger and brighter with the rush of being on a stage making adrenaline run over their skin. 

seungyoun though, its a face he can’t put a finger on. 

maybe he’s seen uniq on screen once, but it doesn’t feel the same. its a small world that they live in, all striving for the same thing on the same stages. he wouldn’t put it past any of them to think that maybe he’s stood on the same stage as him once. 

but seungyoun is all wide smiles, eyes crinkling in the corners. he laughs with wooseok as if they’ve laughed together before, easy and freeing, like a myriad of windchimes. 

loveshot gives them tiny smiles and late night rehearsals, and once they start they don’t stop, even when they’re not even in the same groups. it becomes something unspoken, loitering around practice room b until they give up and share it. its quiet in comparison to their mornings, but it becomes theirs. 

and then, when they stand on their final day to debut with one each other at their sides, wooseok can’t help but find himself thinking that maybe this is a little meant to be. 

**step four** : with you

“seungyoun go back to sleep” wooseok mumbles, voice groggy and deeper that it normally is. he tries to wiggle out of the older’s grip, trying to push him away but the other only seems to smile. he doesn’t need to turn around to see it. 

seungyoun’s been poking fun at him for hours now, sly smile never leaving his face since he’s heard wooseok humming, seen the video he posted.

seungyoun laughs against the bare skin of his back, slipping in a kiss or two. “so you liked my song that much?” he teased, arms tightening around wooseok’s waist. he couldn’t see, but he was sure that the younger was rolling his eyes. 

“mm, something like that.” he mumbles, trying to roll away and go back to sleep. 

“mm.” seungyoun hums back in response, the room going quiet for a bit and woosoek nearly sighs out of relief until he feels seungyoun’s fingers trace over his stomach, ducking under the material of his shirt and then he starts humming, quiet and only a bit out of key with how tired they are, but woosoek knows too well that it’s his own song, the chorus of  _ meaningless _ filling up the room. 

wooseok huffs and turns in his arms, turning his entire body to face seungyoun and he hears the other let out a noise of surprise as he makes out the expression just slightly with the way his eyes have adjusted. 

“you’re lucky you’re cute.” wooseok grumbles, one of his hands reaching to grasp seungyoun’s uper arm while he leans in and kisses him, taking his lower lip between his teeth. 

seungyoun just laughs at him, and it makes wooseok’s chest flutter with the way it sounds. he’s played his songs on loop before, he would do the same with his laugh is he could. 

“yeah, lucky me.” 

**step five** : onwards

idol life seems to still paint pictures in his mind no matter how many years pass by. he hasn’t touched a mic in years, only dressing up and putting makeup on for the few occasions that he leaves the house to see familiar faces, catch up and match paces. 

they’re all older now, the hours of staying up late now taking a bit of a toll. he misses those late nights, but its comforting to sometimes hear their songs play on the radio, or have it filter through their apartment. 

he hears the front door gently swing open, hears tired footsteps against the hardwood floors and feels seungyoun hug him from behind, kissing behind the shell of his ear. he feels the smile that the other presses against his skin as he recognizes the tune, knows its from their debut album as their voices melt into the walls. 

“welcome home.” wooseok whispers, turning in his arms and feeling the counter press into his lower back, smiling up at seungyoun who brightens ups significantly, all the exhaustion nearly peeling away. 

seungyoun holds wooseok’s face in his hands like he’s holding the world, touch incredibly soft as if the years together worn it down, feeling the calluses against his cheeks. 

“love you.” he whispers, peppering his face in kisses. 

“love you too.” 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading !! hmu on twit under @/luwuizy <3


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